FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT: Theresa Mulkins, Director of Public Relations
OFFICE: (845) 483-6418
MOBILE: (845) 416-0377
tmulkins@health-quest.org

Poughkeepsie, NY – April 26, 2012 –Vassar Brothers Medical Center is proud to announce that it has received accreditation as a Medical Physics Residency program in Radiation Oncology.  The accreditation was granted by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP). 

Vassar Brothers is only the 45th institution in the United States to receive this accreditation. By being on the forefront in this area, the hospital provides a tremendous benefit to the community at large as well as demonstrating the quality of its Radiation Oncology program.  A review of the list of accredited programs reveals names such as Memorial Sloan Kettering, M.D. Anderson, Harvard University, Mayo Clinic, Stanford University, and other well-known prestigious institutions.  In fact, 13 of the top 25 cancer programs in the US as ranked by US News and World Report have accredited Medical Physics Residency programs. 

The importance of Medical Physics Residency programs will become increasingly important next year as it will be part of the criteria for being eligible to sit for the Board exam.  Beginning this year, candidates must have graduated from or be enrolled in a CAMPEP-approved graduate school or a CAMPEP-approved residency program.  In order to begin the certification process in 2014 and after (which means all applications starting September 2013), the candidate must have graduated from or be enrolled in a CAMPEP-approved residency program. 

Vassar Brothers Medical Center is a 365-bed facility that has been serving New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley since 1887. Located on the banks of the Hudson River, Vassar Brothers has established centers of excellence in cardiac services, cancer care and women and children’s health services. As a regional medical center, Vassar Brothers houses the area’s first and only cardiothoracic surgery center between Westchester and Albany and delivers more babies than any other hospital between Manhattan and Montreal.

Vassar Brothers is an affiliate of the Health Quest hospital system, which also includes Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck and Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel. Health Grades, a leading hospital ratings organization, recently acknowledged Health Quest as “the most recognized health system in the Hudson Valley”.

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